Ore-washing machine.



PATENTED MAR. 20, 1906.

A. S. MITCHELL; ORE WASHING MACHINE.

' "TAPPLIGATION FILED liov. 12, 1904.

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A. s. MITCHELL. ORE" WASHING MACHINE APPLIOATIONQIILED Nov. 1 2, 1904.

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4 l 25 4 W 'l I 3i 1- 27 m 26 No'. 815,853. PATENTED MAR. 20, 1906. A. s. MITGHELL' ORE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILEDINOV, 12, 1904.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. j

Application filed November 12, 1904. Serial No. 232.540-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 20, 1906.

n this character wherein the ore will be thorhaving a gyratory motion and in which the "oughly separated from the gravel, sand, and

other gangue and the latter discharged from the machine.

A further object of the invention'is to provide an improved rocking member or trough ore is received and initially separated and from which it is delivered onto screens for a final separation, the larger particles of gangue being discharged after the final separation.

' A further object of the invention is to provide the ore-receiving screens at their receiving ends with supplemental inclined and finely perforated screens onto which the ore is delivered from one screen to another and which serves to separate from the mass the finerarticles of ore and sand.

- A ther object of the invention is to pro- 'vide a screen with an absorbent or filtering:

material upon which the particles of ore will be deposited and by which they will be retained, the ore so deposited being separated by-the filter into strata or layers of varying degrees of quality or specific gravity.

With these and other objects in view the invention comprises the novel features of construction and combination of parts more fully hereinafter described. 4

Inthe accompanying drawings, Figure is a rear end elevation of a separator embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a front end elevation of the same with the screens removed.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional elevation of the complete machine. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of "thesame." Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lowermost screen. Fig.

6 is a similar view of the intermediate screen.

Fig. 7 is a similar View of the uppermost screen or. rocking member. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the pivoting member for the uppermost screen. 9 is a detail sectional view of a portion of one of the filters.

Referringto the drawings, l designates a box or casing provided at its rear end with a -door 2, having an opening 3, adapted to be normally closed by a sliding member or closure 4, there being attached to and arising from the rear end of the casing a pair of upwardly-converging crossed members or standards 5, presenting at their upper endsa seat 6 for the reception of a water-delivery pipe or duct 7.

Disposed. upon the top and extending transversely of the casing 1 is a longitudinally bowed or curved track or way 8, which receives for travel grooved wheels or rollers 9, journaled in suitable bearings depending from the lower face of a receptacle or hopper 10, which at its forward end merges into and forms a part of an upper downwardly andv forwardly inclined ore-receiving chute or trough 11, which terminates at its forward end immediately above a discharge-spout 12,

hinged or otherwise pivoted to the forward end of the case, which latter has its top at its forward end downwardly inclined, as at 13, and provided with an opening 14, disposed directly beneath an opening 15 in the bottom of the chute 11.

Attached to the front wall of and within the casing 1 is a transversely-disposed bracket or cleat 16, suitably spaced from the upper end of the casing and constituting a support for I the forwardend of a rearwardly and downwardly inclined intermediate trough or chute 17, provided in its bottom between its ends with a discharge-opening 18and having its rear end disposed and supported within the opening 3, there being sustained in the forward end of the chute, whichis arranged within the opening 141 and beneath the opening 15, an auxiliary downwardly-inclined screen 19, on which material is delivered through the opening 15 from the chute 11 for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. Beneath the chute 17 is disposed a downwardly and forwardly inclined chute or trough 20, having its rear end disposed beneath the dischargeopening 18 and sustained by a support 21', arising vertically from the bottom of the cas ing and its forward end projected outward through an opening 22, formed in the front wall of the casing, there being secured at the rear end and within the chute 20 an auxiliary 7 screen 23, disposed beneathv thedi'schargeopening 18, this screen being downwardly said parts and control the feedingof material from the hopper 10 to the trough 1 1.

Each of the chutes 11, 17, and 20 has upon itsbottom an absorbent or filterin .medium 27, over which is applied a sheet wire fabric or other reticulated material 28, this material being adapted to extend from end to end of the screen and cover the dischargeopenings in the chutes 11 and 17 and is of comparatively coarse mesh, the fabric in the screen 11 being secured at the forward end of the latter by a transverse cleat 29, which in practice constitutes a rifiie for acting in conjunction with one or more removable metal riffies attached to the screen and of a charac- 31, provided at the forward end of the chute 30 The filtering or absorbent medium 27 consists, as illustrated in Fig. 8, of an upper layer 32 of absorbent felt, an intermediate layer 33 of absorbent cotton, and a lower layer 34 of absorbent paper.

In practice the material to be separated is deposited in the hopper and the rocking member, consisting of the hopper and chute 11, has imparted thereto a combined rotary and oscillatory movement by moving the rocking member manually or otherwise back and forth over the track 8, in view of which movement the same rotates upon the pivot 24. While the rocking member is in motion water discharged from the pipe 7 washes the -material downward over the screen 28, which serves to retard the ore and permit discharge of the gravel and gangue at theforward end 'of the chute onto the discharge member 12, by means of which it is directed clear of the underlying discharge end of chute 20. As the material passes the opening the ore and finer particles of gravel and sand escape through the opening 15 onto the screen 19 and downward through the chute 17, whereby a further separation of-the material is effected, as just described, owing to the ore being retarded by the Wire fabric 28. From the The cleats 3O serve the further chute 17 the material escapes through the opening 18 into the chute for further and final separation, the residue of the gravel and ganguebeing delivered from the discharge end of the chute 20 after the final separation. At the final delivery of the impurities from the chute 20 any ore remainin will be prevented from escaping by the riffies When the material passes from one chute to another, it flows upon the underlying screen 19 or 23, which is composed of finely-perforated wire fabric or other reticulated material, and while the heavier part of the material is deflected and directed downward through the chute by said screen the finer particles of ore and sand pass through the screen onto the fabric 28, by which the fine ore is retained, thus effecting a thorough separation of the finer lighter ore from the heavier ore and its accompanying gangue. As the material and ore are washed through the chutes over the fabric 28 theore is deposited through the latter onto the absorbent material 27 and quickly pereolates through the latter, the heavier ore being retained by the felt 32, the intermedi ate grade of ore by the cotton 33, and the lighter flour-gold or ore-dust by the paper 34. After the filtering medium has received its full capacity of ore it is removed from the machine and treated for the recovery of said ore, which, as will be readily understood, is graded while being deposited in the filter.

The casing 1 is equipped with handles 35, attached to its opposite ends and by which it may be readily transported from place to place, and when prepared for transportation the various chutes are inclosed within the casing 1 and the openin 14 closed by folding the chute 12 backward t lereover, it being apparent that said chute thus performs the additional function of-a closure for said openin from the foregoing it is apparent that I produce a simple inexpensive device in which the ore will be positively and thoroughly separated and graded, one whereby practically no wastage of ore will occur, and one wherein the necessity for burnin the framework of the chutes to recover ore t orefrom, as is now a common practice, is wholly obviated. In attaining these ends it is to be understood that minor changes in the details herein set forth may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In an ore separator, an upwardlycurved guideway, a pivoted receiving-trou h having wheels arranged for travel on t 1e guideway, a second trou h arranged beneath the receiving-trough and adapted to receive material from the latter, a supplemental screen arranged in the second trough and onto which material from the receivingtrough is delivered, and means Within the the passage of material through the latter, IQ. troughs for retarding the passage of material and an underlying trough to receive material therethrough. v from the receiving-tron h.

2. In an ore-se arator, an upper receiving- In testimony whereo I afliX my signature 5 trough pivoted or rotation, an upwardlyin presence of two Witnesses.

curved track sustained beneath the receiving I ALFRED S. MITCHELL. end of the trough, Wheels carried by the trough Witnesses: l or travel on the track, means for delivering ORA W. JAYCOX, water into the trough, means for retarding DAVID L. JAYooX. 

